Paint manufacturers typically distribute premixed paints in a small number of popular colors. To accommodate user desires and enable matching of existing painted surfaces, paint manufacturers typically also distribute a set of tintable base paints and several concentrated colorants. These are combined in point-of-sale outlets using color dispensing and shaker equipment to make small batch lots of custom-tinted paint or stain in a much larger array of colors than the limited colors available in premixed products.
To assist consumers in selecting colors, paint manufacturers may provide small color cards, also commonly referred to as paint cards or paint chips, showing a color or range of related paint colors available. Typically, a consumer will obtain one or more color cards with desired colors from a local retail store or via online ordering. The consumer may then hold each color card up against a surface to be painted for color matching or selection purposes. However, the use of color cards can be a time consuming process, and does not allow the consumer to see how the entire surface will appear with the given colors, particularly areas of the surface the different lighting conditions. Thus, there remains an ongoing desire by paint manufacturers and retailers to assist consumers in selecting which paint colors to use.